Chileans crowned their midfielder Arturo Vidal as the new king of Spain on Thursday and hailed their victory over the holders as a portent of even greater things to come at the World Cup.

“Pure Chile” crowed the headline in Las Últimas Noticias after Chile’s 2-0 defeat of Spain, their first victory over the old colonial power in 64 years of trying. Those opening two words of the national anthem were also given a rousing rendition by 30,000 red-shirted Chilean fans in the Maracanã before Wednesday’s match.

“The game of our lives” ran a headline on one of 34 inside pages dedicated to coverage of the match. “Chile, bigger than the Maracanã,” proclaimed the El Mercurio newspaper over a photograph of Jorge Sampaoli’s players celebrating inside the famous ground in Rio de Janeiro.

Chilean twitter feeds were abuzz with jokes and memes at the expense of the Spaniards. One showed a photograph of Vidal, with his Mohican haircut and tattoos, kitted out as the Spanish king with a uniform and sash.

Vidal is known in Chile as El Rey Arturo (King Arthur) and his side’s victory came on the day Spain’s real king, Juan Carlos, officially stepped down from the throne. “The new king of Spain” ran a caption under the picture of Vidal.

Chile’s president, Michelle Bachelet, was photographed giving the thumbs up, a red and blue Chilean scarf around her neck. “I’m not even going to tell you how she celebrated the goals,” her spokesman Alvaro Elizalde said. “I’m 44 years old and I’ve never before seen Chile reach the second round of the World Cup after just two matches.”

Many Chileans are now looking ahead to Monday’s final Group B match against the Netherlands in São Paulo. Most are assuming that their team will need a win to avoid a second-round encounter with Brazil, who knocked Chile out of the World Cup in France in 1998 and in South Africa four years ago. However, the way Chile played against Spain is inspiring confidence.

“The team that filled the Maracanã with football yesterday knows no bounds,” one newspaper commentator wrote. “Not even Brazil can fill them with fear.”

Subsequent footage showed that the flare had not hit him, and he then confessed that the cut had been self-inflicted using a razor hidden in his glove. Chile were banned from the 1994 World Cup as a result of the incident.

Chile’s captain on Wednesday, Claudio Bravo, was aware of the significance of his country’s return to the famous Rio stadium. “Yes, it’s true, the Maracanã has a lot of significance in Chilean football because of that, but it was time to let it go,” he said.

“It was a dark episode, but it resonates a lot with me because it happened to a goalkeeper. I suppose this game must have felt quite special to Roberto, so I dedicate it to him in part. Football often gives you the chance to turn things around, and this is further proof of that.

“I’m not surprised that we beat Spain today, because the last few times we played them we got the feeling our style of play ruffled them. That said, it was clear that to beat them we’d have to put in a perfect display, like we did today.

“We’ve always said that we have to take things one step at a time, getting stronger as the competition progresses. There’s a huge weight off us now because we proved that we’re a strong team that goes out to tackle every match in the same way – whoever our opponents are.”